INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH CHAPTER 1

This bunch of misguided God dropouts has walked out on God. We wonder why bother even trying to get this bunch of featherbrained misfits back into the fold. They were bad from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. They lived like they had been in a Sodom and Gomorrah training camp. However, they still sacrificed but it was all a sham. God wanted them to straighten up and do what’s right and he promises to wipe the slate clean. The leaders are dishonest cronies who love idols but its curtains for these God-traitors if they continue fooling around in the goddess gardens. My commentary will give you more insight into the book.

EXPOSITION TO ISAIAH CHAPTER 1

1The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah was divinely granted a sight into the future while in a state of ecstasy. In these visions God showed him what would happen in future times.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT CORROBORATE THE TEXT:

Num 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

Num 24:4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

They are admonished to listen as God makes his case against them. God had taken care of them like a parent takes care of their children but Israel had rebelled against him.

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THAT MAKE THE CASE:

Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

3The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Even animals know whose boss and where the feed comes from. God says his people have no discernment they acted like a bunch of guilt ridden God-dropouts.

4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Isaiah describes them as a bunch of vandals rotten to the core staggering beneath a heavy load of guilt. The prophet paints a picture of them as bad to the bone, degenerate, perverted, wrongdoers. They had walked out on God, gave him the cold shoulder, never looked back and broke the contract with God and he is going to kick them out.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT ILLUMINATE THE TEXT:

Jer 16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

You keep betraying God so why should he send corrective measures? You will revolt more and more. From head to heart you are diseased. The gears inside their head are not meshing and their heart has a large clot.

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THAT ENDORSE THE TEXT:

Jer 2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

6From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Your country has been devastated by foreigners, plunder and devastation is everywhere. You stand by and watch helplessly as they devour your crops.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT LEND EVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Psa 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. READ: Jer 6:14,Jer 30:12,Nah 3:19.

7Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Isa 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

8And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

Isaiah paints three graphic pictures of Zion: She looks like a shanty in a cucumber patch after harvest time; or a city blockaded so no supplies can enter, or a guard shack in a vineyard after the grapes have been gathered.

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THAT LEND EVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Lam 2:1 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!

9Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

If you could travel back in time and take a look at Sodom and Gomorrah. If God had not intervened they would have been wiped out like Sodom and Gomorrah. With this comparison Isaiah won’t win the “person of the year” award at the next city banquet.

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THAT CORROBORATE THE TEXT:

Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

10Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

God had his fill of their grain-fed fatted calves what he wants them to do is wash of the grime of their schemes and crimes he wants them to block oppression and defend the vulnerable.

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THAT ILLUSTRATE THE TEXT:

Mic 3:10-11 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.

11To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

God says that when they came into his court of worship who gave them the idea of acting like this.

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THAT RATIFY THE TEXT:

1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

12When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

All of this was meaningless and worthless without true justice. Isaiah describes them as a bunch of pious frauds holding solemn meetings, festivals and convocations; it was all talk and no walk.

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THAT AUTHENTICATE THE TEXT:

Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

God says he can’t tolerate any more of their new moons and appointed feasts. It was no more than ritual and charade. God was weary with their trivial religious gatherings.

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ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:

Mal 1:10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

Meetings, meetings, meetings, monthly, weekly, daily-meetings for this, meetings for that; God says he hated them. When they did their prayer performance God was looking the other way.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT PRESENT OVERWHELMING PROOF OF THE TEXT:

Amo 5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

With blood on their hands it was drowning out their prayers. God says to take a spiritual shower and wash up─take a long shower and wash off the grime and grit of evil and help the down-and-out.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT ATTEST TO THE TEXT:

Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

16Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

They are called on to redress the wronged and champion the cause of orphans and widows.

17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

God wants them to sit down and settle the dispute between them and then he will wash them white as snow. God gives them the options and they are making the call.

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THAT RATIFY THE TEXT:

Psa 82:3-4 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

They can dig in and resist God or they can have an attitude adjustment and eat the best of their land.

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THAT BEAR OUT THE TEXT:

Act 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

19If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

If you refuse and rebel you will not eat the best of the land.

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THAT SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT THE TEXT:

Hos 14:1-2 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

If they rebel the sword of their enemies will eat them. Isaiah reinforces the statement by saying, “the Lord has spoken it.”

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THAT SHED LIGHT ON THE TEXT:

1Sa 12:25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

21How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Whoredom had become a way of life for them. They had frequented the “sex-and-religion-shrines.” The chaste city had become unchaste─she was a slut and Isaiah had likened her to Sodom and Gomorrah. In olden days she was a city that was known for justice and righteousness but now murder was on the headlines of the daily paper.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT VERIFY THE TEXT:

Jer 2:20-21 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

22Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

You are filled with a bunch of counterfeiters─your silver is mixed with worthless alloy and you water down the wine.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT GIVE COUNTEREVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Eze 22:18,19 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

23Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Your politicians are in cahoots with the mob, you are hand in glove with crooks─bribery, greed and corruption are the norm. Your judges itch for a gift, justice is denied the poor and money buys justice. These corrupt officials never stand-up or stick-up for the homeless or defenseless.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT CONFIRM THE TEXT:

Exo 23:8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

24Therefore saith the LORD, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

This is God’s sentence: The maker of atoms and angels is about to bring down the house on them. God is going to enjoy getting back at his enemies.

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GIVE AUTHORITIVE DATA TO THE TEXT:

Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

25And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

The ones who were not avenged in the previous verse are promised that their dross and tin (their sin and injustice is compared to dross and tin in precious metal) will be purged away by the smelting pot of God’s justice.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

CARRY WEIGHT REGARDING THE TEXT:

Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

26And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

God promises to restore their judges as they once were. The city will once again have a faithful government and will be called “the faithful city.”

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THAT MAKE THE CASE:

Isa 60:17-18 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

27Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

God has a right way and will put Zion back on the correct path and when he does her people will be converted and redeemed.

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THAT MAKE THE CASE:

Rom 11:26-27 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

This will be the doom of the damned. Those who never repent will be crushed; these rebels and transgressors will be consumed.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

LEND EVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Psa 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

29For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

They had dallied in the sacred grove-shrines and committed abominable acts in the garden-shrines with idols and now you will be confounded.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT DEMONSTRATE THE TEXT:

Eze 6:13 Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.

30For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

You will end up like an oak tree that loses it leaves or like a garden that turns brown for lack of water.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT AUTHENTICATE THE TEXT:

Isa 5:6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

31And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

The strongest (oaks) are likened to tow and the idol maker is likened to a spark and both are going to burn together and none can quench them.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:

Isa 43:17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.